Tungsten Trioxide Intercalation

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Safety

Wear eye protection

Procedure:

Step 1. Place 0.5 g of WO3 into a 150-mL beaker. CAUTION: WO3 is an irritant. Avoid creating or breathing dust. Avoid eye and skin contact. Wash hands thoroughly after handling.

Step 2. Add about 50 mL of 3 M hydrochloric acid onto the WO3. What happens?

Step 3. Add 0.6 g zinc filings to the acid and observe what takes place. CAUTION: Keep away from open flames.
Wait for the reaction to finish.
(During this time record the conductivity and the x-ray powder diffraction of the starting material. See below.)

Step 4. After all reaction has ceased, suction-filter off the solid product.

Step 5. Wash twice with water and air-dry for a few minutes. Record the weight of dry product obtained.

X-Ray Powder Diffraction

Step 6.Tightly wrap a piece of tape with the sticky side out all the way around a microscope slide. Stick to an aluminum holder.

Step 7. Fill the holder with powder and smooth to a uniform depth. Prepare both the product and the starting material.
– For both the product and for the starting material place the holder in the diffractometer and scan from 20 to 35°. Have you obtained a different material? WO3 is triclinic with three strong peaks having d spacing greater than 3.6 Å, each corresponding to half a unit cell dimension. HxWO3 has higher (tetragonal) symmetry.

Electrical Resistance

1. Use a plastic nut and two bolts. Screw a bolt all the way into one side.
2. Add sample. Screw another bolt into the opposite side. Tighten the thumbscrew by hand.
   – Is the pressed powder conductive? Compare resistance of the starting material with that of the product.

Reversibility

1. Place the sample in an oven at 100°C for 90 minutes or keep the sample at room temperature for three days. Change in coloration can show alteration on the molecular level, but conductivity and x-ray diffraction analysis can verify if the reaction is indeed reversible.

Questions:

1. What is the color of the WO3? of HxWO3?
2. Are there any visible changes when hydrochloric acid is added to the WO3 in beaker?
3. Which is a better reducing agent, H2 or Zn(s)?
4. What weight of starting material did you use? What weight of product did you get?
5. Have you synthesized a different material? How do you know?
6. Are the pressed powders conductive? Is there a conductivity difference between starting material and product?
7. Is the reaction reversible? What data supports your answer?
8. What are the balanced chemical equations for the reduction and re-oxidation in air of the WO3?

Materials:

• Tungsten trioxide, WO3, Aldrich 232785
• Zn, granule 20 mesh, Aldrich 243469
• 3 M HCl
• 150 mL beaker, 50 mL graduated cylinder
• Suction flask, Hirsch funnel and adapter, filter paper
• Tape, glass microscope slide, aluminum XRD holder
  Obtain a piece of polyethylene rod. Drill all the way through. Twist in the tap from each end to thread the drilled hole. The thumbscrews should not touch even if both are screwed in all the way.
• Polyethylene Rod 1/2″ Diameter x 9/16″ Long, McMaster-Carr 8701K41.
• Drill and Bit (7/64″ or #36), McMaster-Carr 8947A114 or 8947A189
• 6-32 tap, McMaster-Carr 2523A446, and T-handle tap wrench, McMaster-Car r 25605A63
• Thumbscrews 6-32 x 1/4″ (brass), McMaster-Carr 92421A144
• Multimeter

YouTube Link:

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